Mendix, Inc. announced version 6 of its rapid application development platform, adding support for offline functionality in mobile applications, an model application program interface (API) and open-source software development kit (SDK) with enhanced import and export capability for application models.

Mendix is a model-driven development platform, meeting that users build applications by modeling flows and logic at a high level. The platform then generates compiled or interpreted code. The principal advantage of model-driven development is the speed with which applications can be built.

Mendix provides a software development kit and hundreds of widgets and templates built by the company and its customers. The platform executes in an interpreted runtime environment using a Java back-end. Templates cover common business functions like claims management and self-service customer portals, and task-specific widgets can be dragged and dropped into models.

The new release of Mendix now supports off-line execution of mobile apps using an integrated synchronization server that enables data to be stored ann edited on the device and synchronized with the server. Its API and open-source platform SDK have also been enhanced with expanded import and export capability. Application models can now be exported for documentation purposes, or for porting to other platforms. Java export is supporting natively, and and a published API can be used to export to other languages as well

Model import capabilities support automated migration of legacy applications for redeployment in the cloud. “You can take a Lotus Notes application and import it into Mendix to generate a much more modern and cloud-native alternative,” said Mendix CEO Derek Roos. The core platform includes a few basic importers for applications like Excel, “but we leave it to community to build what they need.”

New APIs now also allow static analysis of application models to check for inconsistencies and improve maintainability. Scripts can also now be used against the API, a capability that was previously not available.

Other new features in Mendix 6 include Cloud Foundry integration, a responsive design framework and packaged services for specific business processes. The company is also now available in the Amazon Web Services Marketplace.

Mendix tools are free in the cloud with pricing by deployed applications. Pricing starts at $10,000 per year, Roos said.